


A Thousand Years

by Lights321



Category: MTMTE Transformers, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: A first attempt at a story with plot, M/M, Other, lol I dunno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-02
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-17 23:28:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1406524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lights321/pseuds/Lights321
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trapped in a land of deception, Rewind struggles to survive and work with the cards he has been dealt. He has been in a world where the very air around you is merely an experiment of the gods. Rewind must learn to live in a world that would never ever welcome him with a beast of a mech. Overlord. A slow build story. Pairings are variable as the story goes on. Or maybe none at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Author-Chan: ALRIGHT B*TCHES! THIS IS A STORY WRITTEN BY ME AND ANGSTY! So relax, put your feet up, and put your hand down your pan-!_

_Angsty: *Puts hand over Author-Chan's mouth* The others will make appearances (maybe) But enjoy this collaboration between me and the psycho beside me._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rewind glanced at Chromedome desperately pounding at the glass that separated them. Even though there was no sound to be heard, Rewind could tell that Chromedome was screaming at him through the glass.

Rewind felt lubricants trail down his cheeks as he stood up and backed away from Chromedome still on the other side of the glass. He knew he was going to die. There was no question or other option. He was going to die here, alone with this monster.

Overlord, the one who was responsible for the death of countless others lay directly across him, already getting up and looking at him with sadistic unreadable optics. He seemed amused at the fact that Chromedome was still desperately trying to reach Rewind. Then his intense stare went to the minibot standing in front of him.

"You are not afraid of standing here in my presence, minibot?"

Rewind straightened up and looked directly into the gaze of the mech that murdered countless others.

"I'm not afraid of dying with you, Overlord."

Overlord chuckled and picked up that damnable sword that started everything. The escape pod shifted and Rewind realized that they were going to be shot into space. Where they were going to undoubtedly going to blow up the vessel that both he and Overlord were currently occupying.

Rewind sat down on the floor and relaxed himself. Death was inevitable. This was it. A small smile crept over his hidden faceplates. It was ironic really. His own death had fulfilled his greatest wish. Chromedome dying before he did was the minibot's greatest fear. He loved his friend way too much to allow the other bot to die before he did.

Living without Chromedome seemed like something out of a nightmare. But dying with Overlord didn't seem much better. Meanwhile, the Decepticon was looking around him with boredom on his faceplates. Catching the minibot's gaze on him, Overlord asked Rewind as casually as if he was discussing weather.

"I assume that there are no exits from this pod?"

Rewind answered just as calmly. "No. There are no exits. We are both going to die here."

Overlord smiled back. "So callous and calm about rejoining the Allspark. I would have loved to spent some time on studying you."

Rewind did not answer back, He simply stared out to the stars. He had so much to do with his life. All that time spent with a faithful friend like Chromedome, and never being able to find Dominus Ambus. But it was all over now.

Rewind looked back at the ship on more time, then fixed his visor on a brightly shining star. Yes, he could die looking at a thing of beauty…

Rewind, heard the monitor give the warning.

_Bombs locked onto vessel. T-minus 10 seconds to exit._

Rewind looked at Overlord, the Decepticon simply giving him a smirk and turning his head to the same window that Rewind was looking out.

_T-minus 7 seconds…_

Rewind gazed at the same star, his spark finally at peace. Oh, when he arrived at the Well of Allsparks he could see so many of his dead friends...and maybe Dominus was there too! But it didn't seem likely, Dominus was way too awesome to be dead already!

_T-minus 5 seconds…_

Rewind smiled behind his mask, the lubricants down his cheeks already long dry. He was now truly, honestly, completely ready…

But then something happened.

A loud cackling sound appeared, and a swirling purple and light blue portal appeared, right between Overlord and Rewind. Both bots turned around with surprise and and shock in their optics. There was an unbelievable suction, and Rewind flew straight toward the portal, realizing that Overlord was being made doing the same, the latter being sucked in with anger in his optics.

Rewind tried to dig his heels into the ground, but the suction was simply too powerful, he got sucked into the portal and was spiraling down a tunnel that glowed with purple and light blue hues. Rewind felt himself completely transfixed by the pattern, and his systems started to shut down.

The last thing that Rewind heard was Overlord bellowing in rage, and the monitor saying the final words in a hypnotic bland voice.

_Bombs connecting._

There was the sound was a gigantic explosion and then Rewind heard nothing at all.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When Overlord awoke, he growled on instinct. All those years of being trapped in the Autobot cells had trained him to appear as threatening as possible. There was the lesser chance of being kicked awake if you has the look of murder on your faceplates even as you recharged.

Overlord pushed himself straight and did a double start.

Alright, so maybe he wasn't on the Autobot ship anymore…

The place he found himself was actually...quite nice. He was in the middle of an endless green field, the grass long and untamed, that swayed in the breeze. The sky was blue, with fluffy clouds floating, the temperature was perfect. It wasn't too hot or cold. Overlord felt himself wanting to lay back and fall into an endless recharge.

Unfortunately, the events of what had happened before he had ended up in this paradise caught up to him. Overlord glanced around him with anticipation. This certainly looked like the Well of Allsparks, but where were the other souls?

His gaze fell on a minibot curled up in recharge not too far from where he slept. So, here was one bot that was sure to be dead with him. But that did not explain the fact that this place was completely desolate of other lifeforms.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rewind shifted in recharge, his body shivering. He was standing in the middle of an empty black space. There were no stars out here, just him and the shifting shapes. Those shapes...

Rewind bit back a scream as he saw them, the shapes, blacker than the night, moving around, and regarding him carefully. Then came the hissing voices.

_"My Lord, this one appears different than the others."_

Rewind whimpered, the hissing voice appearing to be originated from directly to his audio receptors. Another deep voice chuckled.

This voice, unlike the other, was not scratchy or hiss like. Instead, it was deep, cultured, and held the promise of death. Rewind was instantly reminded of Overlord.

" _Indeed Biter. What should we do about this one? I don't feel like making him scream. Well, not in that way of course."_

Rewind shivered, both in disgust and fear. The obvious implications of the statement was disgusting and Rewind felt like grabbing Chromedome's servo. He would do anything to have his friend's reassuring presence by his side right now…

' _Biter's_ ' voice appeared once more.  _"And the other, my Lord?"_

_"Kill him."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rewind snapped out of recharge with a sobbing gasp as he looked around him wildly.

Oh.

This was most certainly not the Lost Light.

Instead, he had found himself in a place usually found in those earth movies Swerve liked him to copy-and-archive. He found himself looking around with amazement, the nightmare temporarily forgotten. Was this the Well of Allsparks?

A voice behind him cleared his vocalizer. Rewind turned around slowly. He made his voice as somber as possible.

"Well, it should stand to reason that are both dead after all."

Overlord gave a toxic smirk back. "Disappointed?"

Rewind scoffed. "Of course. I sort of hoped that you would be rusting at the bottom of the Pit right now, but I guess all wishes cannot be fulfilled, can they?"

Rewind turned his helm around. "Now, where is everyone?"

Overlord gave another smile. "I have my suspicions about whether or not we are in the genuine Allspark, minibot. Take a close look around you."

Rewind turned his head around one more time noticing for the first time that there was a gigantic scientific base a little distance away. It glinted red in the sun and was constructed beautifully. But… bases like that were only constructed on foreign planets, for scientists to further study a habitat before allowing Cybertronian lifeforms to settle on a planet…

Overlord continued speaking. "That is not all. Look behind you Rewind."

Rewind turned his head around slowly and nearly choked on a mid-vent at what he saw.

Ships.

All of them, ships, some more ancient than the others, but all of them crashed into the beautiful endless field. The field was completely covered in about a dozen crashed finally felt reality hit him. He wasn't dead. In fact, he was far from dead but in worse danger than he had ever been.

"Last Chances…" Rewind mumbled in a state of shock. Overlord turned to face him.

"Pardon?"

Rewind turned to him feeling sick. "Maybe it would be easier if i just show you."

Rewind activated his camera, sending a holo-video onto the ground. Overlord watched avidly.

The video showed a minicon walking down the Lost Light's hallway, when suddenly, there was a loud crash and a voice shrieking out _"EUREKA!"_

_Rewind's hand reached out and opened the door, to find Brainstorm doing a dance on the table, while pointing to a monitor and shrieking so high he almost sounded like a femme. He turned around to face the camera and cried out joyfully._

_"REWIND! I DID IT!"_

_Brainstorm ran toward the camera and picked up Rewind and swirled the minicon around while babbling on and on. Rewind stuttered out incoherent words._

_Brainstorm finally set Rewind down and held a finger. "Now Rewind, I'm going to explain something to get out the excitement in my systems, and you're going to listen while simultaneously shutting the hell up, understand?"_

_The camera swung up and down from Rewind nodding._

_Brainstorm pointed to the monitor. "I JUST DISCOVERED WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST CHANCE PORTALS! I DISCOVERED THE THEORY OF SEEING WHETHER OR NOT A SHIP HAS BEEN DESTROYED OR SUCKED INTO A PORTAL! IN YOUR FACE PERCEPTOR!"_

_Brainstorm continued talking. "These portals appear when a mech's spark accept their death. Now Rewind, our sparks work a bit funny. When a mech has accepted wholeheartedly to die, their sparks send out a sort of pulse signal, signalling that they are ready to go back to Primus, that they are ready to kick the bucket, yadda, yadda, yadda."_

_Brainstorm's optics got a mad glint. "But here's the amazing part! Every so often, every eon or so, these rips in time and space called 'Last Chance' appear! They only appear to mechs who have accepted their deaths! And I suspect that is why recently, some ships that are caught in asteroid fields are now disappearing!"_

_The camera tilted a bit, showing that Rewind was cocking his head in confusion._

_Brainstorm continued. "Nobody knows what lies in these "Last Chance' portals, but I have heard some myths and legends about it! They say it was a dimension created by both Primus and Unicron themselves! They wanted to test to see if their powers could ever be compatible. but the place they created was curious indeed…"_

_Brainstorm put a finger to his chin in thought. "A land where both god's personalities are affected! A coin with 2 different faces! Where day and night are ever changing! Whatever that means…"_

_Rewind was still quite and the camera was inching away from the rambling scientist. Rewind was slowly backing away from the seemingly crazy Brainstorm._

_Brainstorm turned around to rewind and his optics held a glint that meant the scientist was smiling._

_"Say, Rewind, what would you do if you were sucked into a 'Last Chance'?"_

The footage ended there and both bots were silent. Overlord looked at Rewind evenly.

"So...we are currently standing in the middle of a rip in time and space?"

Rewind looked at the ships again.

"Let's check out those ships. If they are the ships that have gone missing due to Brainstorm's theory of 'Last Chance' then we are definitely in the alternative dimension."

Overlord and Rewind proceeded down to the ships, walking in silence the entire way. Rewind had to jog because Overlord's strides were so much stronger than his.

When they finally arrived in front of the ships, Rewind checked the ship's names and felt his spark sink.

_The Discovery._

_The New Hope_

A few supply ships scattered here and there. All of them ships that had mysteriously disappeared with 'Last Chance' residue. All the ships that had been previously checked down as unfortunate casualties in a meteor storm or simply lost to the world.

Rewind glanced around him. There were even a few Decepticon vessels scattered here and there.

Overlord seemed particularly wary of these decepticon vessels. He looked at each of them carefully, visibly relaxing when the ship did not seem to have the name he was searching for.

Rewind looked at Overlord for a moment, wondering why the Decepticon was so concerned about the names of the vessels. Rewind turned his gaze away. It wasn't of his concern to know why Overlord was acting so strange. He didn't care.

Rewind returned his attention to the ships. There was something strange about these ships that Rewind was missing. Something obvious…

Rewind looked carefully at the ships again. They were stripped of metal in the strangest places. Strange quantities too. Then he smacked his helm.

Of course!

The base behind them was made of Red Rust metal! That was the metal that was stripped away from the ships! But it was still strange. Of all the materials they could have used, why the Red Rust?

The metal was named after the disease, they used to bury the bots infected with the metal, since it appeared to be the only material immune to the disease.

Overlord had walked over to Rewind.

"I assume we are indeed in the 'Last Chance'?"

Rewind nodded miserably. He turned his gaze to Overlord.

"There's another thing. Every one of these ships are completely stripped of Red Rust metal. It's strange. Of all the materials…"

Overlord gave a feral grin. "You're correct. It isn't the most ideal of materials. But remember what your little scientific friend said. This place is a coin. Two completely different sides. Why shouldn't it stand to reason that perhaps Red Rust metal is a sort of protection of whatever might creep here?"

Rewind felt himself shiver at the chuckle Overlord let out, the quiet laugh seemingly echoing across the endless fields.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rewind and Overlord sat in the shade of _The_ _Discovery_ , each thinking their own thoughts and contemplating their own fates.

Overlord was the first to break the silence.

"I don't think I'll kill you."

Rewind looked at the larger Decepticon sitting beside him.

"Thanks?"

Overlord looked at him, his face completely neutral.

"You're the first bot I've met to have faced death so calmly. I also fear I may go mad with loneliness in this place. You're also an archivist. You're the best chance I have of figuring out what may have happened here."

Rewind tossed his head back, meeting the metal behind him with a clank.

"Thanks Overlord." Rewind mumbled dryly. He couldn't believe he was speaking with the most powerful Decepticon since Megatron so casually. This was almost like trying to start an intelligent conversation with Whirl. Pointless and riddled with endless stupidity.

"You're very welcome." Overlord replied with an almost innocent sincerity in his voice.

"What is your name anyway?" Rewind turned his head to face Overlord at the unexpected question.

Rewind paused before answering. "It's Rewind."

Overlord turned his head around and looked at Rewind with amusement in his optics. "Rewind?"

Rewind felt himself visibly bristle when he heard Overlord chuckle again. "What? Is there something funny about my name?"

Overlord stopped chuckling and looked over at Rewind. "You meant so much to that fool Chromedome. I wonder how he would feel now, knowing that you are stuck here with me?"

Rewind stopped all emotions from bubbling to the surface immediately. He knew what game Overlord was playing. He and Whirl were much too similar.

Rewind replied, his voice even colder than ice. " Whatever he might feel, it would be more emotion then you would ever express in your entire life, you sadistic monster."

Overlord paused then, looking at Rewind with fire glinting in his optics even though he wore a smile on his faceplates.

"Careful Rewind. I said that I _might_ not kill you, remember?"

Rewind leant back into the ship. "You won't kill me. Because you need me."

Overlord replied, his voice soft. "And when the day comes that I no longer need you?"

Rewind replied just as softly.

"That is the day that I'll be ready to die."

Overlord chuckled yet again. "Oh, you're just so interesting, Rewind..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Author-Chan: Why do I have the feeling this is going to be darker than all our other fics? O_O_

_Angsty: This is a story written by both you and me darling. It's going to be bloody and dark. Review and tell us what you think so far…_

_Author-Chan: B-but I want the instant lemons… the smut..._


	2. Survival of the Fittest

_Author-Chan: ANNNNNNGGGGSSSSTTTTTTYYYYYYYY! Can we PLEEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEEE speed up the lemon process?! I want my lemons!_

_Angsty: Hush child. This plot bunny will play out by itself. Isn't that right, cutie?_

_It-That-Must-Not-Be-Named: *_ _**Grunt** _ _*_

_Author-Chan: That... is the most terrifying bunny I have ever seen. O_O"_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Overlord gazed at the little archivist, amused at the inner battle that was playing out in the little bot's mind. He knew the depressing symptoms that would come from being denied death when you were so close to it. Yes, he knew the symptoms very well.

He was going to have fun toying with Rewind's mind. Until the day Rewind finally went insane, he could kill the minibot if there were no other living creatures to terminate. And if there were others, he would kill this minicon anyway. No bot had ever survived Overlord's presence long, and it would remain the same, until Overlord keeled over and died himself.

Unfortunately, there appeared to be no others, and the very last thing on Overlord's mind was to go insane. As much he relished killing and destroying, he was still a mech, and a mech needed verbal contact. He would keep the minicon by his side, until Rewind either went crazy or discovered a place out of here.

Getting out of this place was the key objective and Overlord had a hunch that the answers they needed was at the rust coloured base.

He finally broke the silence, making the little minibot startle a bit.

"As pleasant as it is discussing death and gore with you, I believe we should get ourselves over to the base now. Sitting idly does not suit me."

Rewind looked at Overlord and nodded.

They both got up and started making their way to the lonely base in the distance.

Walking over to their destination was not half as difficult as the weight in Rewind's spark. It was crashing down on him, the reality of his situation. He was stuck in a land that the outside world had little to none information about. Rewind made himself a silent vow.

He was getting out of this place. Be it by another portal or him crushing his own spark, he would get out of here.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Overlord's strides were seriously starting to get annoying. Rewind was tempted to speak up and tell the Decepticon t _o slow the frag down_  before something caught his optic.

Surrounding the base were something that Rewind knew the word to, but he couldn't put his hand on it. Straying from his original path, he approached one and knelt down to take a closer look. It was large, and it probably would have been the length of his chassis. The stem was purple and the petals were pink and black.

It was a…  _flower_. It was pretty and looked strong. Rewind stretched out a servo and touched the petal.

The flower quivered and suddenly popped out of the ground. Rewind gasped and retreated behind Overlord's legs. Not the most ideal of protection, but the mech had said he wouldn't kill Rewind until he had fulfilled his purpose after all.

The object that had popped out of the ground reminded Rewind of a mushroom, the bottom stubby, while the top wide and delicate. It had no eyes or mouth to speak of, but it appeared to be carefully studying both Rewind and Overlord.

It bounced forward and cocked its 'head' at a 90 degree angle as it observed the two mechs ahead of it. This was so strange. There were no more walking creatures here anymore! And there were most certainly no walking tiny creatures like the one that was hiding behind the big ones feet.

The odd little plant shook itself and buried itself back into the dirt where it had been previously napping. Rewind and Overlord looked at each other blandly, then continued walking to the base. The unspoken message was in the air.

_Nothing just happened._

When Rewind and Overlord had finally arrived at the base, the gigantic metal doors staring them down. It was certainly big enough, this place was designed to be more of a base then an actual home.

Overlord glanced at the red coated panel and pressed the equally red entrance button that lay directly underneath it. Thee doors gave a slight rumble, and the ground beneath both bots trembled. The doors opened and blackness lay beyond.

Rewind wrapped his arms around himself in fear and forced himself forward. This was not the dream he had. There were no such things as monsters.

Overlord was already striding forward without a care in the world. Rewind obediently followed allowing the darkness of the deserted base swallow them up.

Overlord walked on ahead, smirking as he felt the minibot's EMP field emit fear and anticipation. So the little minibot was afraid of the darkness hmm?

Overlord spoke out quietly. "Are you afraid of the dark _little bot_?"

Rewind jumped a little beside him and mumbled out angrily. "Shut up, Overlord."

Overlord eventually made out a shape in front of him that looked like a light panel. He grabbed ahold of it and pulled it down. The gigantic lights above whirled to life, illuminating everything.

Rewind adjusted his visor, glancing around in confusion as he made out everything. There were multiple doors, but the room that he and Overlord were in right now seemed like a lobby. There was a desk that had monitors on the front, and there were also multiple chairs.

Rewind looked up and gasped at what he saw. A beautiful chandelier like object lay above their heads. It was made of various crystals, and bounded together with thinly stretched wires. someone even went to the trouble of adding some little clear crystal droplets, adding to the natural effect.

Overlord merely spent it an dismissive glance and looked away. He could understand that with being stuck in an inescapable dimension the bots in there would have a lot of time to spare.

Rewind finally looked away from the beautiful decoration and looked to a doorway marked with two very interesting words.

' _Communication Room'_

Rewind walked toward the room, with Overlord following him. Upon arriving, he felt indignant and angry.

Why you ask? Because everything in this dimension seemed intent on reminding him that he was much shorter than the average bot.

Every computer and monitor in the room was designed for a mech bigger than he was. There wasn't even one meant for a minibot. How rude. Overlord, the unbelievable bastard, merely sat on one of the chairs and gave Rewind a condescending smile.

Rewind growled as he pulled himself onto a chair and stared at the monitor ahead of him.

This was weird.

It didn't have any passwords or blocks. He was already inside the computer. With complete access to anything he would have wanted. Overlord crossed the room to look at what Rewind was accessing.

"Interesting." Was all the Decepticon said. Rewind scowled and started to click away at the monitor. Yes... journal entries; those were the best.

Rewind opened the file and watched the journal entries with Overlord right behind him.

_Journal Entry 1:_

_My name is Bose. I know, stupid name, but it was the card I was dealt, so deal with it. Like I'm dealing with the fact that me and my team have just crash landed on this weird place. I'm just a simple assistant to the head scientist here, Windstorm._

_This place is so pretty, it's like we have just landed in the Well of AllSpark's. but we haven't. There are so many crashed ships here, and there's this tiny base made of Red rust metal. It's funny, but whatever. Maybe whoever lived here before had a weird obsession with the material, like Windstorm and his laser scalpels. I have to go now. some of the crewmates report a mushroom like flower. Must investigate._

_Journal Entry 2:_

_This place...what's WRONG with this place? Two crewmates have gone missing and we found their remains a few feet from the ship. We had placed them outside in case anything happened in the middle of the night. They are completely torn to pieces, we only found bits and scraps of them. Other body parts are of an unknown location, and the only mechs that have survived here are the ones that spent the night inside the base. Red Rust metal...Is this the material needed to ward off whatever evil that come plague this paradise at night? I must go now. I have to help WindStorm calm down the panicked crewmates._

_Journal Entry 7:_

_We are now expanding the base. Of course, all the materials we are using are simply constructing coated in the Red Rust metal. Surprisingly, it is an worthy substitute. Windstorm and I have made it clear that no bots are to go out after dark. Whatever is out there cannot be good._

_However, there is the good news. This place is the perfect paradise. There are massive energon pools beneath us. The strange flowers out there seem to play a part in filtering the energon and making sure that it is good to drink. So good in fact, we all got ridiculously over-charged the first night. We are now building an energon pumper to make sure that we do not have to dig like animals to get our fuel. Might as well help them with this right now._

_Journal Entry 12:_

_The pumper project is complete. Now all we need are the proper dispensers. Everyone is seemly settled into their roles. There are no more talks about home, though it seems to be a taboo subject. We are now focusing on expanding the base, even though I cannot stop certain thoughts from crossing my mind._

_This place is so beautiful, even though it's so dangerous at night. There is no danger of Decepticons here and the energon is rich. This place, is the most ideal place for a bot to get settled. I sometimes contemplate whether or not I should pursue romantic interests. Many tell me me I am easy on the optics, but really? Should I really get involved with someone intimately? I don't know…_

It was at this point Overlord walked off. Rewind turned around with confusion.

"Where are you going Overlord?"

The said Decepticon turned around and answered with boredom in his tone.

"The sun is starting to set. From the journal entries I gathered, the outside is not safe at night, and I'm going to shut all the doors or possibly windows. I have no interests reading about a lovesick Autobot."

With that, Overlord turned around to leave.

Rewind sighed and turned back to the monitor. He knew he shouldn't be reading about an fellow Autobot's personal life, but it was so fragging tempting!

Turning around to leave, Rewind turned back to the monitor and clicked on the next entry.

Slag it. In a land where he was possibly doomed to live a boring life with a psychotic Decepticon torturer he needed all the entertainment he could get.

_Journal Entry 13:_

_An most interesting discovery. It would appear that the flowers outside serve as some sort of last minute warning toward the dark. They immediately sink into the ground and appear to never be there at all. The building project is going nicely, but I must confess my mind was on other things today. This is where it's going to get weird data pad, but I have to make a confession between you and me. I confided my thoughts from the previous day to WindStorm. He simply gave me a solemn look and told me these very words.  
_ _  
When everything is through and done, that is the ideal time to raise a sparkling.'_

_What does he mean? Has WindStorm also considered raising a sparkling here in these beautiful forgotten lands?_

Rewind turned away from the monitor with a sigh as he stretched his sore joints a bit.

He had  _definitely_  read enough for today. Besides, the sun appeared to be setting anyway. It was a good idea to adjust his sleep schedule to recharge during the night.

Rewind walked out of the Computer Room to another doorway labeled Dormitories.

He looked at each berth carefully, they each appeared to be the same. Pushing himself onto a comfortable looking berth, Rewind lay back against the comfortable foam padding.

He felt his aching joints relax as his body readjusted comfortably. Rewind knew he should break down crying at this point, but frankly he was too exhausted to care. Grief could come later when he had the energy…

Rewind shut off his visor and his systems slowly shut off one by one. The only sound in the room was his own venting and the sound of a slowly shutting down robotic systems.

If only the peace could continue from there.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Rewind found himself in the inky blackness again._

_There were the black shapes again, except this time there seemed to be more. A lot more._

_There were multiple hisses and other curious sounds. Rewind felt a bit more calm than last time. if they didn't hurt him in his previous visit, why now? Besides, this was only a stasis glitch._

_Reaching out a hand, Rewind touched one of the black masses that floated randomly around him. it was like running your hand through gel with a smoke like quality._

_The shape stopped its restless shifting and regarded this tiny creature named Rewind that had the audacity to touch it. Looking closer at this Rewind creature, the shape shifted closer to the minibot._

_Rewind stroked another part of the creature, fascinated with the strange and addictive texture._

_The shape gave a loud purr at the gentle strokes. It had been far too long since another living creature had touched it with no ulterior motive. Especially one so small and adorable…_

_"_ _Having fun Rewind?_ _" A familiar voice hissed in his audios._

_Rewind instantly stopped all movement, the mass beneath his hand mewling in disappointment. As soon as it realized that its superiors were talking with the minibot, it skulked off. Maybe he would have time to play with the minibot when his leaders were through with Rewind._

_"_ _Now, now Biter, little Rewind didn't know that nasty Red Rust metal would repel us. But he's going to stay outside the next time dark falls, isn't he?_ _"_

_Rewind looked to the general direction where the deep voice originated from._

_"Who are you?" Rewind said softly._

_A laugh echoed through the dreamscape. It left no area untainted as the entire dream seemed to wobble from the sound._

_"I am the King." Came the triumphant reply._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rewind rebooted his visor as he sat up ramrod straight.

The second time he had nearly the exact same nightmare...and both were hardly a day apart.

This wasn't something to get too concerned over, but if they persisted, Rewind was seriously gonna confront those fragging creatures for disrupting a peaceful recharge.

Besides, the nightmares were starting to get a bit more disturbing. Rewind couldn't tell if the creatures wanted to kill him or keep him as some sort of pet.

Rewind had a sinking feeling that if those dreams were not simply a figment of his vivid imagination, then maybe those black masses had something to do with the two bots disappearing. Or the fact that everyone was terrified of going outside.

Rewind felt his tanks give a slight gurgle. Rewind looked down in surprise. he had been so focused on his nightmares he never realized that he was starving. Rewind could barely remember the last time he refueled.

Well, maybe the cafeteria had something for him to refuel. After all, it did say in the diary entries that they found underground pools of energon.

Rewind walked the cafeteria, to his relief, finding multiple energon dispensers and a lonesome Decepticon sitting by himself, nursing a large cube of energon.

Rewind pulled a chair over to a nearby dispenser and selected a small energon container. As he suspected, there really were no minibots ever to set foot on this land. And besides, not supplying the special energon containers meant for the smaller bots would be just plain  _jerk_  on the scientists part.

Rewind sat as far away from Overlord as logically possible and managed to set his full cube on the chair before he pulled himself up. This was going from ridiculous to just plain stupid. At least he had Chromedome to help him out when needed.

Chromedome…

Rewind flipped his mask down as he sipped his energon. The incredibly fine flavour was lost to him as he thought about his friend. First Dominus Ambus now…

Rewind felt incredibly guilty. As in, spark wrenching guilty. He still remembered how he felt when Dominus had disappeared without a trace. The sadness, agony, and the repeat of one continuous word.

_Why? Why? Why?_

At least Chromedome had something to remember him by.

_The screaming of the sirens, the escape pod, shifting toward its ejection out of the ship, him throwing the dataslug out before the doors closed._

Rewind shook his head to clear his processor. Now was not the time to dwell on Chromedome. He knew his friend was strong enough to continue on without him. _He knew this._  But the only thing that Rewind could do now was the thing he did best. He had to find out what happened in this place. Why it was completely deserted. _Research_ , fraggit.

Dominus could wait until he finished researching. The number one priority was to find out  _what the frag happened here_. And why he was having all these weird dreams.

"You look different with your mask retracted, minibot."

Rewind looked up where the voice originated, and instinctively snapped his mask shut. Overlord was standing over him at the end of the table.

Overlord sat down next to him.

"We're going to be here awhile yet, minibot. Might as well get used to each others presense."

Rewind looked at him for a long moment before speaking.

"You must be joking."

Overlord chuckled and replied.

"You're right. I was just bored and you looked so serious here."

Rewind kept all emotions in check and did not respond in either motion or emotion. Overlord seemed disappointed and stood up.

"I'm going out to check the ships. There might be clues of where the others disappeared. Spilled energon, signs of struggle, things like that."

Rewind gave his opinion, throwing in his few shanix.

"You might want to modify your sword with Red Rust metal. It seems to be the only material that we can use to defend against the things that creep out there."

Overlord looked at Rewind in silence in a long moment.

" _We_?"

Rewind stiffened upon hearing his mistake repeated. Overlord laughed aloud at the sight of the smaller bot. Rewind turned from the insufferable mech and stormed down the hall toward the computer room with his half-finished ration of energon.

Overlord could frag himself and that stupid personality of his altogether.


	3. The Message

_Author-Chan: *Chatting on the cellphie* So I told that d*ckhead of a manlyass cucumber that he could suck my woman ball-_

_Angsty: I'm sorry to interrupt you intelligent conversation Author-Chan, but we have another chapter to complete._

_Author-Chan: YOU have another chapter to complete. I'm just here for the beer and the b*tches._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rewind walked down the halls toward the computer room, toting along his large, half full container of energon.

He didn't care about Overlord, not one  _single_  bit. He didn't care if Overlord was killed by some weird unidentified tentacle creature out there. Frag, the oversized jerk deserved it!

Rewind arrived at the designated door, and the entrance swooshed open automatically, thank goodness. Rewind walked in setting to cube on the floor and pulled himself onto the same chair he had stood in when he was last here. Rewind switched on the computer and waited patiently as the monitor loaded and onlined. Rewind's visor glazed over a tiny bit as he lost himself within his thoughts.

It was amazing really. When you were in love, you involved the mech of your affections within everything you did. Rewind thought about the first time he tried to open a computer on his own. Jumping up and down, he tried to reach higher to that stubborn dial  _just_  above him. Dominus had just simply reached out an arm and flicked the switch using a single finger with exaggerated ease.

Leaning back against the seat he was resting on, Rewind let out a loud sigh. Oh, how he wished that he Chromedome, and Dominus Ambus could be stuck in this world together instead of him and Overlord. They would have worked as a proper team in this forgotten paradise. Chromedome... Dominus... the same.. yet so  _different_...

Chromedome...

Dominus Ambus...

 _Chromedome_...

 _Dominus Ambus_...

Rewind felt his processor suddenly whirl with panic. What if his message didn't work? What if Chromedome was already shooting himself up this very instant? No, no, no, no _, no, no, no.._.

NO! He had to have faith! Rewind had to believe that there was eventually going to be a way out of this mess. If there was a bridge out of this place, then by Unicron's brow he was going to take it. If Rewind could have faith that he would make it out of here, then he knew for a fact that Chromedome wouldn't continue his despicable actions against himself. Besides, this place was totally deserted. Who was to say that they couldn't just simply find a way out of here?

_Or just taken away?_

Frozen at the dark thoughts flying across his processor, Rewind shook his helm to clear it. For a moment he thought... No, those were just dreams...

The monitor had already long loaded into the menu screen and Rewind stretched his shoulders to ready them for a typing workout. What should he look at first? The main data frame? Incident records?

In the end, Rewind found himself drifting toward the journal entries. He tried to convince himself that it was because journal entries were a first-hand source toward this place, but to be very honest, he was simply curious. Losing himself within the world of Bose, he continued reading.

 __Journal Entry 15  
I have not laughed so hard since before we ended up in this place. One of our scouts (WindStrike, was it?) was apparently chased and throughly molested by one of those flowers residing outside. It all started when he had accidentally tripped over one of those flowers residing outside. It had pulled itself out of the ground and was gazing at him quite angrily (Imagine, a flower glaring at him angrily) He had felt a urge to apologize to it, and did so. The flower was still staring at him, so he complimented it as well as giving a small pat on the petals.  
Imagine his surprise when the flower opened its hidden mouth and gave a running leap at him.  
The guards that saved him quite literally dropped to the ground laughing as they saw a full grown mech running screaming through the fields with a delicate flower chasing after him with little hops and attempting to hump his leg. I believe even WindStorm cracked a smile at that ordeal.

Rewind snorted aloud at the mental image the journal entry provided. Who knew the pretty flowers outside had it in them?

_Journal entry 16_

_A most startling discovery! Perhaps...Perhaps the plants outside may be able to communicate! WindStrike had shakily told me that while he was being chased, he heard a continuous chattering noise behind him! Must investigate further maybe I-_

Rewind frowned as he stared at the computer screen. The journal entries had cut off from there. It seemed like they were blocked or just erased for some reason. There were more entries in the future, but a couple were missing.

Maybe they fell through a gap in cyberspace. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence in computers.

But about that last entry... could the flowers outside really talk? It was probably- _most likely_ a stupid theory, but testing the theory could probably eat up a whole chunk of Rewind's time. He could ignore the post all together, but he knew it would come back to plague him later.

Wait, wait... if the flowers  _could_  talk outside... then maybe they could tell Rewind about the mechs that were previously here!

Rewind had a felt strange about the mechs that were stranded here. He had a gut feeling that they either managed to escape this paradise... or they didn't. He frankly didn't want to know what happened. The only cheerful alternative he could come up with prior to escaping was that they offlined themselves from boredom.

Rewind jumped out of the seat and chugged down the energon. Choking briefly on the strong taste, Rewind felt a small jolt in his systems from the sudden rush of energy. Yeah, he was  _definitely_  ready to do this.

Rewind ran to the main lobby, stopping a moment to admire the chandelier. There was something about it that made him stop and gape for a little while. He just couldn't put his hand on it yet. But he felt as if he wanted to cry and laugh at the same time...

Exiting the building he vented deeply. The sky was bluer then ever, and the grass was so soft... Rewind felt like lying down on the soft ground and recharging... dream of Chromedome and him watching a movie... Tailgate stuttering around Cyclonus...

His dream was promptly shattered as he smashed into a flower. Fortunately, unlike the scout in the journal entry, he wasn't tall enough to trip over this particular flower. It was as tall as him for Primus' sake. And it had a green stem with blue and green petals, black at the very tips. However, his bump made the flower shiver as it popped out of the ground and regarded him.

Rewind rubbed his arms as he nearly felt the dark "look" the plant sent his way. He wasn't sure if the flower's could send out EM field's, but he was damn sure that this particular organic was quite miffed it had been rudely pulled from its peaceful bed in the soft ground.

"Um... I- I'm really sorry that I bumped into you... You, uh, you have really pretty petals!" Rewind stuttered. He was reminded of the time he had approached another slave he liked in his former master's home. Needless to say, it did not end well, just like this mission most likely...

The flower remained still and cocked its petal head as it "stared" at Rewind. Rewind felt a weak, weird push against his own EM field. Alright, this organic really did have something similar to an EM. But it was weird. Like it was distorted and mutated beyond all reason. Rewind understood how Bose had neglected to mention this in his journal. As an archivist, he was naturally more sensitive to absorbing the feeling of the air around him. It was a vital part of recording and editing footage to know how your viewers were feeling. For example, if he felt a mech tense and angry (Cyclonus), he would naturally avoid that particular being for the rest of the day and generally just try his best not to get his camera smashed in.

But there was another science involved that explained minibots were more sensitive EM fields. Apparently a mech's size was also involved. The larger your EMP generator ( a mech) was, the stronger waves he pulsed. Rewind was frankly amazed he could sense the EMP field as he was, with it being so screwed up.

Now if he concentrated, he could feel that the plant was...

Confused and slightly ticked off.

Alright, so this really  _wasn't_  so different from that other time.

"I- uh, I'm really sorry that I tripped over you, and probably messed up your beautiful petals."

The flower then started shifting a bit and the EMP field said it was embarrassed and confused.

Rewind straightened up and tried his best to boost his ego. Good Primus, he had never tried this hard to hit on anyone before. But the end results might be worth it if he could just get the plant to talk.

"You know, even to another species, you look  _damn fine_. What do I have to do to hear your voice?"

Embarrassment.  _Pure embarrassment_. For the both of them. Rewind knew he could do this. He  _could_.

"Being as beautiful as you are, I'm sure that your voice is unbelievably musical, the very same level as a perfect being. Can a goddess be anything other then as perfect as you are?"

Rewind was really laying it on thick. However it was paying off, the plant was definitely feeling flattered flattered at this point. It was even moving slowly toward Rewind. Rewind looked closely to see if it had a mouth, or anything close to an vocalizer.

Unfortunately he leaned a bit too far and the plant managed to shove itself against him. Rewind squeaked as he felt the plant give off deep inhuman purrs and rubbed itself against Rewind. In fact, it even shifted to-

"What the hell are you doing minibot?"

Rewind squeaked loudly and gently pushed the plant away. He looked past the plant to the gigantic mech directly behind him. Overlord was standing behind him, his hands covered in energon, and holding a package that was soaked with spilled mech blood.

Rewind suddenly felt stiff. His body refused to move and his processor went blank. He suddenly remembered with vivid clarity what had transpired during the Lost Ark.

_Mechs screaming. The crash of broken metal and limbs. Broken bodies littering the halls that he had walked and laughed with friends._

Rewind's desperation, confusion and the irritation of being denied death had impaired his vision of who Overlord really was. Who was he kidding? He wasn't ever going to reach home being trapped here with this mech. _Never ever, never ever, never ever_...

The plant that was rubbing itself against the minibot suddenly stopped as it felt the tiny bot underneath him go rigid.

It stopped rubbing itself suggestively and instead wibbled curiously and stopped its movements as it sensed Rewind's EM field go from embarrassed to ice frigid with fear. The organic nudged itself against the small bot and gave loud reassuring purrs.

Rewind felt himself slowly relax, his body's tension spreading itself out like the bud of a flower, leaving behind a numb empty feeling. It was okay ... he was alive ... It was fine ... Chromedome ... Chromedome was still out there ... and Dominus Ambus ... the two mechs he cared about the most were still alive ... he had to live ... he  _had_  to.

His systems calmed down and he gazed levelly at Overlord's face. The gigantic mech was just as carefully looking at him back. All that had transpired for just a few moments, however neither of them were fooled nor bothered by the silence that had occurred. They were both neither fools or idiots. Rewind had a dreading feeling that if he had stayed in that panicked state, he wouldn't be alive. He was such an idiot...A monster like Overlord would be drawn to fear like a predator to a weakened kill...

Overlord remained still as he saw the sheer terror that had flashed across the minibot's visor. Overlord frankly didn't care about what had triggered the small bots fear... but...

Overlord felt himself twitch with excitement. If this bot didn't recover within the next 30 seconds, he would crush him underfoot. After all if  _Rewind_  couldn't handle a little energon, then he would logically be a horrible companion in this Primus-forsaken world. Overlord may have been a little ...  _concerned_  about being alone after being trapped in that slagging slow-cell, but it wasn't enough to stop him from killing this minibot should he prove unworthy.

Overlord didn't care about his reasoning. Slag the logical scrap. As long as he eventually got to kill  _something_ , he was happy.

Needless to say, he was disappointed when  _Rewind_  recovered. Oh, what a loss, the bot underneath him would have screamed so wonderfully. Overlord knew a screamer when he saw one. Nothing more intoxicating then holding a life utterly to your commend...

Overlord saw the mech life up a tiny arm and point to the bag he was holding at his side. It only took Rewind about six tries to speak.

"What...in the name of Cybertron...is-is that..?"

Oh. The minibot was talking about the package Overlord was holding? Well, maybe the contents inside might be able to make the little bot faint.

Overlord held out the bloodied sack just in case Rewind wanted to se it closer. He reached in and smoothly pulled out...

... a mech's disembodied head. _A mutilated head._ He pulled it right up by the leftover spinal cables.

Rewind offlined his visor for a split second to hold in a shriek and the sudden urge to vomit. He would go through this. There was nothing special about seeing a mech's head missing its body and torn beyond all reason. Hell, he had already seen a Sparkeater's victim. That scrap made this look like a piece of pliable metal chewed on by a sparkling.

Rewind had seen this mech's glee when he had a brief panic attack. He would not give this sicko the satisfaction of seeing him squirm. Instead, Rewind stroked the smooth texture of the plant still cuddled against him. It somewhat calmed him down a bit, knowing there was something of an anchor beside him.

" Did you kill him?" Rewind inwardly sighed at how calm he appeared on the outside.

Overlord glanced at the minibot, his mouth curling up in a mean smirk. " No, no, unfortunately I didn't get the pleasure. I simply found a mutilated body on one of the ships, along with a recording device beside his frame."

Rewind perked up at the mention of another source of information, but something didn't seem quite right with what Overlord was saying. He took another look at the bag and it clicked.

"Wait... If you simply found this mech in this state, why is the energon still fresh? I'm no Ratchet, but even I can tell the energon hasn't even clotted yet. That's a death span of around 2-3 hours."

Overlord gave another smirk at the hesitant observation. "We aren't alone here."

Rewind felt chilled to his very core. He heard a dark voice laugh in the depths of his mind and felt the shifting of shadows. "What do you mean?"

Overlord gazed in the direction of nowhere. "When walking toward the ships I saw some... strange monstrosities stir in the shadow of those wrecks. They had no basic shape, and I thought they were a simply a smudge on my optic lenses. My instincts do not fail me. I know for a fact that there is something out there besides the two of us."

Rewind really felt like his fuel tanks were trying to digest a gigantic clump of ice. There was no real confirmation of his dreams being real yet-

Overlord held out the recording device. His optics held a strange gleam, like he was trying to dissect Rewind simply with his vision. "I thought you might like to hear what message this device holds. It is certainly... interesting. Yes, very, very interesting..."

Rewind grabbed the device and flipped the switch. With every word that echoed in his audios Rewind felt like his spark was curling in on itself.

_Rewind, you naughty, naughty, mech. We waited so long to play with you and you left us in the dark lonely night? Come to us... we know what you desire... Look within the cave and enter my kingdom to play Rewind... Yes... I know all about Dominus Ambus..._

_Come to play._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Author-Chan: HOOOOOO! SH*T'S GOING DOOOOOOOOWWWWN! Man, Rewind no, don't take the bait no... There going to be so much sh*t going on if you actually listen to the dude on the recording device..._

_Angsty: I apologize for the short chapter. But it seemed like a good place to cut it short. I promise the next chapter will be so screwed up Author-Chan will cry her eyeballs out._


	4. Facing your Fears

_Author-chan: SO... DAMN... TIRED..._   


_Angsty: Screw the commentary! This is the chapter where I can actually put effort within! Ah yes, Thank you's to the LOVELY SweetSpark22. She's such a sweetheart. xD Having the patience and intelligence to corporate with a toaster waffle like me. C:_

**XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxXXXXXXXX**

  


Rewind walked toward the entrance of the cave and peered into the dark depths.

The flower still clinging on his side chirped contentedly and rubbed its 'head' against Rewind. Rewind patted it on the stamen absentmindedly to make sure he wouldn't have a gigantic flower breaking his concentration.  


Overlord stood behind the minibot and looked at the cave entrance with an expression that bordered on disgust and boredom. He stuck out his pede and nudged Rewind forward with it.  


"Well? Aren't you going inside?"  


Rewind ignored the nudge as he stood still and assessed the situation as best as he could. Was he really going to enter a cave that was possibly more dangerous than the mech behind him? He heard Overlord give a growl of impatience from behind and he stiffened. Maybe whatever was in there wasn't as dangerous as the mech behind him. But Rewind had to go in. He had to confirm whether his dreams were real or not. Otherwise, he was no saner than Overlord was.  


Besides, he had the psycho there beside him. If worse came to worst, he could always hitch a ride on Overlord's body as they were both attacked. Rewind stepped into the cave, his own footstep echoing back.  


The flower hung back, giving small whimpers. It then hopped back toward its own dirt mould, carefully avoiding Overlord's gigantic pede. Overlord walked in impatiently, brushing past Rewind. Rewind switched on the light installed on his camera and walked behind Overlord, illuminating the path ahead.  


It was creepy walking down the cave. At first, Overlord had to stoop in order to walk forward, but he could straighten up after only a couple of steps in. Rewind crept behind him, shivering in fright. There was nothing but the darkness ahead and behind them, and Rewind's camera light provided only enough illumination to see a fews steps ahead of them.  


At one point, Overlord picked Rewind up and held him in one hand to better light his own path. Normally, Rewind would object to being used like a flashlight, but he was too apprehensive to do so. It was a little while before Overlord finally broke the unsettling silence.  


"If I don't find anything down there to kill, you die." Rewind was silent for a moment before a giggle spurted out. It was half hysterical, but in an odd way he felt the smallest bit comforted.  


"You have a very charming way to calm mechs down, you do realize that, Overlord?" Rewind felt the gigantic mech shrug. "Back on Garrus 9, I told my troops if they were to ever run away from their battle lines, getting shot in the spark would seem like being stomped on the pede by a femme in comparison to what I would do to them."  


The cave's straight corridor was now sloping downward as Overlord continued walking. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. It could have been a few minutes or a few hours. All Rewind knew was the darkness and the sound of Overlord's steps. The pair eventually came to a forked path, two dark gloomy entrances splitting into two.  


Overlord set Rewind down upon the ground. "You take the right." And with that, Overlord disappeared into the darkness. Rewind stood in shock for a few moments before he turned around to enter the darkness of the path on the right.  


This path was definitely different. The air was closer, and he could see the dust stirring from where he took his steps. Surprisingly soon, he encountered the first body. It was quite mangled, and the body was grey and rusted with age. There was no dried energon to even signify how the mech died. Rewind swallowed, and tip-toed around the corpse.  


Seeing a dead body wasn't as scary for him as it might be for others. He had seen battlefields before, so this wasn't too much to take. At the very least, he knew that this would signify the worst to come. The more Rewind walked down the straight corridor, the more corpses and random body parts he encountered. Some of them were in relatively good condition, but others looked like they were thrown through a metal shredder before they were hauled out. Rewind tripped only once over a stray, mutilated leg.  


Eventually he encountered a gigantic cavern. He couldn't even see the ceiling. All he could see was a huge black space ahead of him. The ground was smooth and the air was somehow more refreshing to vent through his systems. This place was far too clean to be abandoned.  


Rewind walked forward, dragging his steps and setting his alerts to maximum. Even though there seemed to be nothing in the cavern, he could sense that he was in even more danger than before. Looking right to left slowly, he tried to get a sense of where he could walk next.  


Something brushed past his leg and he leapt from it wildly. He could now hear a sound like loud wind blowing in the distance. Rewind wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. What was he doing here?  


Why-

_Look up_. Was the crooned whisper. Rewind involuntarily did as told and felt his spark skip a few beats.  


There were mechs in the ceiling.  


Trapped within green blobs that looked like water drops about to drip down. Each of them had their optics closed and were pressed down into fetal positions. They were all obviously in stasis, the soft glow of their sparks glinting through the green gelatine.  


Rewind ran his gaze over all the bodies suspended in the air before his body gave a sudden jerk. There, at the corner, was the mech that Rewind had heard horror stories about. Heard Ratchet curse repeatedly after Delphi.  


Rewind wasn't there for that particular incident, but he saw the pictures and the descriptions.  


Pharma.  


The mad doctor himself was suspended in mid-air. He was obviously not dead, but seeing the empty stumps on his wrists where his hands should have been had shivers going down Rewind's back.  


Rewind slowly lowered his gaze and tried to walk confidently to the entrance of the cavern and run back outside.  


_Come back Rewind. Don't you want to play?_   


Rewind stiffened as he heard the soft voice ahead of him. He walked forward and strained his eyes to see who spoke.  


"Who are you? What do you want with me?" A quiet whisp of wind whistled past his head.  


_I'm a King_ .   


The voice came from behind Rewind this time. It was high pitched, monotonic and deep, all at the same time. Like three beings were speaking at once. Rewind swallowed and tried again.  


"You've said that before. But, what do you want with me?" Something stroked the side of his head, but Rewind forced himself to stand still and resolute.  


_You're a beautiful prize. Rare, different, delicate, small, and something to be treasured. As King, I possess everything valuable in these lands._   


Rewind sputtered. "Are you joking? I'm just a minibot, no different then those mechs suspended in the air above us. I'm not an endangered species!"  


_Your insecurity makes you even more desirable, Rewind. Turn off your light, Rewind. Give in to me. I promise you'll be happy. Even more happy then with Dominus or Chromedome..._   


Rewind walked away from where the voice originated. He turned his light even brighter just in case. This was quickly getting out of hand and Rewind intended to get the frag out of there before it could escalate further. A sudden rumble shook the cavern, so intense Rewind stumbled to the floor.  


There were confused hisses and a mumbled curse.  


_What is that? Hisser, I thought you said you took care of that gigantic blue dumpster!_   


Another rumble shook the cavern and the green blobs above wobbled dangerously. Rewind heard an insane roar of a laughter pierce the darkness. He hugged himself on the floor and shivered. He was stuck here with the dead, monsters, and an insane mech with an ludicrous amount of physical power. Rewind missed Chromedome. He missed him so much it hurt at this very moment. The furious hissing and growls now came mainly from the entrance. He heard the King's voice pierce all other sounds.  


_Stop that overgrown trash can! How hard is it to kill one of his kind? We have ended others larger than he with less eff-_   


An alarming crash echoed through the cavern. It would seem Overlord had smashed his way through. There were agonized shrieks and terrible gurgling squeals. Rewind offlined his visor and the last of his light, not wanting to witness the carnage. He didn't want to see anything right now. He really didn't. Perhaps the killing stopped all at once, or perhaps it eventually faded. It was only at a very specific moment Rewind knew the carnage had ended. When the ecstatic laughter became huffs, and the sound of a great sword whistling through the air finally quieted.  


Overlord walked toward Rewind, who lay huddled against the floor. The minibot gasped at the sight of Overlord. There were deep slashes across his chest and far too many cuts to count. A deep gash was above his eye, barely missing his optic. Rewind gazed at Overlord with shock, the only sound between them being the dripping of energon from Overlord's bleeding cuts.  


"A-are, you...?"  


Overlord rolled his eyes. "A few scratches like these?"  


Rewind jumped up, all thoughts of his previous fear forgotten and replaced with gratitude at Overlord's sudden entrance and a new kind of fear for the six phaser's injuries.  


"Wounds like these need to be welded shut! You'll bleed out!" Overlord sat on the floor, setting his sword down on the ground. He smiled at Rewind.  


"Do you see a medic here, little archivist?" Rewind went quiet. His gaze drifted upwards, and Overlord followed it.  


**XXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxXXXXXXXX **

The plan was for Overlord to throw a huge rock at the top of the green gelatin that trapped Pharma. Hopefully, it wouldn't actually hit the mad doctor. If it did, however, neither Overlord or Rewind would be too bothered. It went as planned. The rock managed to dislodge Pharma and Overlord managed to catch the doctor as green goo splattered over the pair. Rewind had freaked out anew, but Overlord half-heatedly assured him that the green gunk helped the wounds hurt less.  


Now, Rewind was sitting atop Pharma's chest who was cradled bridal style in Overlord's arms while all three were being chased by those hellish creatures. Rewind could hear their hisses and the sound of murder. He was currently shouting which directions for Overlord to run (photographic memory and all) as he simultaneously tried to wake up Pharma.  


Overlord was running at top speed, a smile still upon his derma. Rewind didn't care what anyone said anymore. The mech was definitely crazy.  


"C'mon Pharma wake- _Overlord the fork! Run to the left! Left!_ Pharma! Wake up!" The furious hissing increased in pitch and Rewind caught a few words.  


_Get-Kill-Blue-Small-Capture-!_   


Rewind felt his spark pulsing at such a speed he was sure he was going to faint at any moment. He looked down at the unconscious medic. Wait, wasn't Pharma still infected with Red Rust? And if he wasn't showing any symptoms, did that mean the disease was still dormant? _Frag_ , he and Overlord wouldn't be able to transform anymore! He would have to inform Overlord later. When they weren't fleeing for their lives, of course.  


Rewind could have sworn the voices were getting closer. Overlord huffed and his smile grew a tiny bit wider. It seemed he was loosing energon faster as he ran uphill, but carrying two bots was hardly a hindrance. His strength wouldn't start to run out just yet. He could continue running in this state for hours if the situation called for it. But, he supposed the medic should seal his wounds as soon as possible, anyway. Something about energon loss effecting the body in the future in a negative way or some scrap like that.  


The light of the cave entrance was ahead, and Pharma was finally beginning to stir. Overlord ran out of the tunnel and never paused as he started sprinting across the field. The sun was still pretty high in the sky; late afternoon.  


The Red base was glinting ahead, and the creatures seemed to be left further and further behind. Rewind climbed onto Overlord's shoulder and peeped over. There was nothing chasing them, only the sound of terrible shrieking behind them in the cave. Rewind swallowed and returned to Pharma.  


The mech's eyes were fluttering as he tried to awaken. Overlord finally slowed from his sprint to a jog. Rewind shook Pharma one last time, and the doctor's eyes opened blearily.  


"W-what?" Pharma gurgled, squinting in the harsh sunlight. Rewind grabbed Pharma's head and yelled as loudly as he could.  


" _C'mon, Pharma! Wake the frag up!_ " Pharma snapped out of his drowsy state and gazed at Rewind with wide optics.  


"You. You! One of the Lost Light's crew! _Where-What_ -" Rewind smacked his hand over Pharma's mouth.  


"No time for that! We're heading toward the only safe area in this Primus forsaken land! You're going to help me save him!" Overlord looked down at the now alert doctor.  


"Well, hello. Pharma, I presume?" Pharma's eyes were as big as saucers. He pushed Rewind's hand away. "What in the name of Cybertron am I doing in the arms of-of Overlord?!"  


The odd trio finally arrived back at base. Overlord threw Rewind and Pharma upon the floor, while he went to close all entrances to the base. Rewind and Pharma lay panting next to each other. Both were in terrible condition, Rewind covered in a layer or dust and dirt while Pharma was still covered in a sheet of the green goo from helm to pede.  


Pharma glared at Rewind as he stood up and pointed a wrist stump at Rewind. "Explain. _Now_. How in the world did you end up here with a mech so dangerous, _Megatron_ himself took cautions to restrain him?"  


Rewind felt a bit insulted to be spoken to in such a manner, but when he saw how much Pharma's body trembled, he realized the mech was more frightened then he was. Rewind let it slide and he explained in explicit detail how he Overlord were hurled through a portal that spit them out here and the time they spent here.  


Pharma listened quietly, as his systems slowly cooled and he eventually stopped trembling. Rewind finished and he looked at Pharma curiously.  


"How did you end up here, anyway?" Pharma looked away as he spoke, face betraying the anger he still held inside. "As I fell through the air, the same portal you described appeared under me. It was night when I arrived."  


Rewind made a sound of pity deep within his throat. Pharma continued. "Those things chased me. I even went into jet mode to try to escape. But those things can fly as well. They dragged me down to that cave and knocked me out. Then, you and Overlord arrived."  


Rewind blinked. "But if you transformed, shouldn't you be dead by now?" Pharma looked at his right arm carefully, seeming to map out its existence. "This arm was damaged during my... fight. It's completely normal now, so it should stand to reason those creatures healed me somehow."  


Rewind tipped his head. "Why in the world would they want to keep you alive?"  


Pharma shrugged. "You saw those mechs in those green pods, didn't you? Perhaps we were all being kept alive for a reason."  


Rewind shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't think I really want to find out what."  


Pharma sighed and kneed down. "Well, thank you, anyway. Thank _you_ , not that blue psychopath coming toward us."  


Overlord approached the pair and smiled at Pharma. "Are you going to stitch my wounds now, doctor? I'm starting to feel the slightest bit weak Trepan."  


**XXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXX**

_Author-Chan: OHHHHHHHH! PHARMA JOINS THE FRAY! Angsty: Huehehehehehehehehe..._   


_Angsty: I always thought that Pharma eventually went full-fledged batshit over at Luna-1, stuck with Tyrest and Lockdown. He will be significantly less crazy in this fic, more of a easily-irritated-partially-traumatized doctor! C:_


	5. The Mad Doctor is In

_Author-Chan: So what's UP with Fanfiction these days?_

 

_Angsty: Maybe you should fix your own retarded behaviour before commenting on others._

 

 

  
**XXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 

Pharma had Overlord sit on the berth in the medbay, while the doctor ordered Rewind to inject the blue behemoth with... something. A medic usually buzzed with noise, ranging from groaning patients to the humming machines. The place however, made its sounds in another field entirely.

_"Pharma! The wound is still bleeding after I welded it! What..?!"_

"Of course you  _halfwit_! If he didn't do that his entire energon will become clogged from the contaminated energon! It's not painful enough, so he doesn't deserve it!"

"Well, excuse me for not being one of the best _former_ medics Delphi had to offer!"

Overlord sighed. Getting fixed by two adorable Autobots and watching them spit insult after insult at each other. This was nearly like Garrus-9.

"Trepan, do you think I'll need an energon transfusion?", Overlord mumbled, voice thick with amusement and also partially due to the tranquilizer shot. (Overlord suspected that Pharma purposely drugged him so that the doctor would feel safer)

Pharma huffed. "You might. But I very much doubt it. A mech of your status could be walking out of the medbay in a few minutes, whereas other normal bots would have to stay a few days. And stop calling me Trepan, dammit! I have nothing in common with him!"

Rewind stopped welding for a few seconds."Hey, isn't Trepan the one Overlord kidnapped in order to have him teach you mnemosurgery?"

Overlord have a sad hum."There's nothing you need to know about Trepan besides the fact that Megatron had him killed before I managed to finish tutoring with him."

Pharma gave another huff." I have nothing in common with that floozy!"

Rewind silently returned to welding. After finishing on Overlord's legs, he climbed onto the berth and started upon the chest. Putting his hands on autopilot Rewind silently mused over his predicament.

Here he was, standing with two of the worst traitors and not to mention most insane. Pharma at the very least had a good reason to go half crazy. Overlord on the other hand...  _what was Rewind doing_? Healing the one that killed more mechs imaginable?!

Rewind continued to weld. He had come to the conclusion a long time ago. He would do his best to keep Overlord alive, so that when trouble came, hopefully he could grab onto Overlord's leg and avoid the catastrophe as best as he could.

Rewind wasn't a fool. He knew that Overlord cared nothing whatsoever about him. But at least with him around, Rewind had a  _chance_  of surviving. The same reason with Pharma. Pharma may be an absolute jerk driven half insane by the DJD, but maybe the medic had a chance of recovery away from their influence.

Rewind sighed as he had to crawl onto Overlord's chest and weld a cut longer then his entire arm. Rewind shook his head as he felt a smile crack beneath his mask. They were by far the weirdest trio that had probably ever existed. Rewind felt the need to confront Pharma and clear the air between them.

"Pharma?"

"Yes?" The medic had turned away from the screen monitoring Overlord's sparkbeat. Rewind didn't see the point, but Pharma nearly pitched a fit if Rewind didn't do it.

"Pharma... How did the DJD do it? How did you manage to make a deal with them?"

It suddenly went deathly quiet in the medbay. Instead of the comfortable silence, Rewind suddenly felt as if he was going to get stabbed with a laser scapel. In the pelvic panel.

"Why do you want to know?" Pharma's voice was quiet and calm, but it had an edge of steel and bite to it.

"Well, considering you nearly killed everyone on Delphi, I think I want to know. And I did this with Overlord as well, asking why he spared my life."

Pharma faced Rewind, ignoring Overlord for the time being.

"So you want to clear the air, hm? Making sure there're no secrets between all three of us?"

Rewind shook his head. "I just want to know if you can still have a chance of being good again."

Pharma laughed."There's no good or wrong in my story, or in this world. I just hope you're prepared for that."

Overlord sat a bit straighter. "Trepan, if there's something about the DJD linked to you, then I would very much want to hear it. I very much doubt there's anything you can say to me that will shock me."

Pharma looked directly at Overlord. "You do realize that you are a total failure upon making me feel more controversial?" Pharma said drily.

Rewind sighed. "Just tell us Pharma. How did the DJD convince you to send them T-Cogs every month?"

Pharma looked directly at the sparkbeat monitor for a very long time. When he spoke, it came as a weary whisper. "I didn't know. I didn't know that Delphi was DJD territory. The previous head doctor had committed suicide. I was the only one who took the job."

Pharma walked over to Overlord and gestured out more scratched for Rewind to weld. Then he continued. "When I first arrived, First Aid was the one who told me that the DJD was a constant threat that loomed over our heads. It was hell the first few months. Everyone creeping around, scared out of their damn minds. I was sick of it. All of it."

Rewind welded, his visor wide and audios focused. Overlord still had a smile on, but it wasn't as full as mockery as it could have been.

"I called them up, arranged a place where we could meet. We met and Tarn told me he wanted the dead patients T-Cogs. Then I left."

Overlord chuckled. "Liar."

Pharma's eyes flashed and he glared at Overlord. "What did you say?"

Overlord looked back. "I know buried pain and anger when I see it Trepan. I very much doubt Tarn simply let you fly away after arrangements had been done."

Pharma looked away, face expressionless. "You're right there. He didn't."

Rewind looked toward Pharma. "Then what did-"

Rewind was stopped by Overlord putting a gigantic hand in front of him. Rewind looked toward Overlord and the mech mouthed a single word.

_Rape._

Rewind felt his tanks churn and looked toward Pharma. The doctor's face was still neutral. As expressionless as the clouds outside.

"I don't know when he stopped... Just woke up unconscious...back to base..."

Rewind swallowed. "Pharma, I'm...I'm really sorry. I wouldn't have asked if I knew..."

Pharma's face was totally neutral. When he spoke it was overly controlled and even. "Everyone can parade around claiming to be righteous, while people who make the important decisions that nobody can do are prosecuted."

Rewind sighed. "You should have gone to the authorities. They could have helped you."

Pharma laughed. "The DJD was capable of singlehandedly capturing Black Shadow the last I heard. That mech is more powerful then Overlord. Do you think the authorities would be capable of handling that?"

Rewind tried to argue. "There...there was probably a better way..."

Pharma sighed as he put a hand over his eyes. "The better way was to destroy Delphi with a plague. Any other way would leave too many questions, and untied ends. With the plague the DJD wouldn't catch on, and  _nearly_  everyone would escape with their lives intact."

Rewind fell silent and Overlord let out a chuckle. "On the other hand, it was a _nearly_ flawless plan. Convincing the DJD and everyone else that it was an accident and you escaping clean."

Pharma didn't say a single word. Rewind silently welded the last of Overlord's wounds. Eventually Rewind spoke. "Even if it was a selfish course of action... I don't blame you. Nobody deserves to take the full brunt of fault. Pharma if it means anything, I'm really sorry things turned out that way for you."

"Why do you say these things to me?"

"Because the biggest evil here is Overlord. You don't hold a torch to what he did, and I'm still able to co-exist with him."

Rewind ignored Overlord's mumble that sounded like:  _Oh, how merciful of you minibot._

Pharma was silent. His physique resembled a porcelain statue. Frozen, but ready to shatter at any given moment. Rewind realized at that moment Ratchet was only half-right. Pharma wasn't yet mad, but he was truly ready to go crazy. Rewind resolved to confront Overlord about Pharma's mental state later, but for now, any arguments or obstacles thrown into Pharma's path should be carefully steered to the other side.

Rewind looked at the welded marks. They had finished bleeding out, and he closed the last of the gaps. Pharma came over and silently overlooked Rewind's work. When Rewind had finished Overlord sat up with a satisfied smile.

"Oh minibot, you did a fine job. You as well, Trepan."

Rewind could have sworn he heard a cable twitch and snap in half within Pharma's body. So much for taking it easy- " _My name is not Trepan!_ "

Overlord ignored the indigent shout and he walked over to the energon dispenser. Pharma looked at him with disgust in his face. "Hungry?"

Overlord hummed. "When I fought those creatures, they didn't just cut and slash, they were feeding off my fluids as well."

Rewind and Pharma both froze. "W-what in the world-?"

Overlord drank down the entire cube of energon in one gulp and talked as he filled it up again. "They aimed mostly for my stomach and chest area as you two saw. Not for my energon lines. I felt them dig their claws into me and they were literally drinking down fluids."

Rewind felt ill, and Pharma was no better.

"That's why the slashes were so long. I had to wretch them off my body, but their claws were sunk in too deep. At the very least they were fun to kill. Solid, yet their bodies were soft..."

Pharma held up his hand in a ' _TMI_ ' universal action."You felt them  _suck_  at your fluids? Not your energon?"

Overlord drank his second cube of energon more slowly."Yes. They were very fast at it as well, and their grip is death tight. I would suggest you two of you watch your step at night or in the darkness. Especially you minibot, I doubt you would last long. Hehe heh..."

Pharma clutched at the edge of the berth to steady himself. "So that was why I was being kept alive. They don't consume energon, just the fluids that we make  _through_  energon."

Overlord hummed. "Rewind, you encountered corpses didn't you? I couldn't see them too clearly on the account of fighting the horde."

Rewind nodded. "The corpses I encountered were old. Very old. They were all dry and cracked from time. I could not see any marks or signs that they died from violence."

Pharma spoke. "Well there you have it. The mechs that get trapped here are used as a food source until they age away into scrap. Then they are thrown into the garbage pile until a new mech comes wandering around here and they have a new dish on the menu."

Rewind whimpered."No wonder he asked me to stay in that cave."

Overlord and Pharma looked over. 

"Pardon?" Pharma asked with an eyebrow raised. Rewind wrapped his arms around his legs. "I-it's just that- Well, I got a offer in the cave, and I think I know why."

Pharma and Overlord both asked simultaneously: "What offer?"

"He wanted me to stay in the cave with him, wanted me to be another meal I guess."

Overlord paused. "Who's  _he_?"

Rewind shrugged. "Call's himself the king. I dunno. Asked me if I wanted to stay behind in that cave with him and become his pet or something."

Pharma sputtered. "Why?!"

Rewind looked away. Overlord raised an eyebrow. "Well Rewind? Do you have any secrets or things as such you need to tell us?"

Rewind nervously wrung his hands together."Well, you see, I was forged during the old days.  _Really_  old days. I can tell you when the Fuctionists has risen and their Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy. I'm also nearly the last of my kind. My alt-mode is a memory stick."

Overlord yawned. "So what?" Pharma looked vaguely interested. That inspired Rewind to continue.

"I'm one of the disposable class. A technical slave. We were barely allowed low-grade when it came to energon. Yet we functioned normally as slaves. Do you follow?"

Pharma already understood. Overlord didn't seem to quite catch on. "What do you mean minibot?"

"Through the "king's" reasoning, you and Pharma have lived on regular energon your entire lives. My fluids are exactly the same as yours if I fuel upon low-grade. I guess he thinks that if he feeds me the energon here my fluids will be more delicious then yours."

Overlord raised an eyebrow."How did he figure these facts out?"

Rewind shrugged."He did say something about me being ' _rare_ '. Maybe they came upon that information by some weird chance?"

Pharma sighed as he rubbed his face with his wrists stubs."This is stupid beyond all reasoning. I am still barely able to comprehend being here with you two."

Overlord purred. "That reminds me... Rewind didn't we once discuss something upon the grassfield about what would happen if a new player arrived here?"

Rewind looked up, his eyes dull and uncaring. "If you don't have me and Pharma, you will die from your wounds that those creatures outside will eventually give you."

Overlord huffed. "True enough. With Trepan missing his hands and all. You were a former slave, so I suppose following instructions is within your coding."

Overlord sighed with a small pout. He looked like a disgruntled sparkling. "Well, I'm recharging. You two femmes make sure not to stay up too late."

Pharma looked after Overlord with his mouth partway open as the six phaser walked off. Turning to Rewind he managed in a barely controlled voice: "How do you put up with that utter  _clusterfrag_?"

Rewind buried his face in his hands. "I don't know Pharma. I don't want to know. I just want to find Dominus Ambus."

Pharma remained silent watching as Rewind slowly got up and walked toward the berth. Rewind sanitized the tools and tucked them away. "Pharma, do you think we'll ever be able to make it out of here?"

Pharma answered curtly. "No."

Rewind turned around to regard the handless medic. "Why not?"

Pharma looked at his wrists. "I don't care if I leave this place or not. As long as I never have to return to Delphi, I'll remain happy."

Rewind decided not to comment. Pharma looked down at his own body. "Rewind, do you mind if you help me scrape off some of this green junk? It's mostly congealed by now. I'd like to scan it and find out whatever this is."

Rewind used the tip of his finger and picked off some of the green goop and put it on the petri dish. Pharma walked over to the medical scanner and grumbled about how lucky the doctor's here had widely spaced keyboards.

Rewind then walked off to the computer lab, leaving Pharma to his own devices. Rewind crawled onto the computer and read the last journal entry he left off.  
  
 _Journal Entry 18_

_The majority of our days are mostly taken up by gathering samples and completing the safety of our base. Windstorm and the rest of the team are sick and tired over the lost mechs. We try to not talk about the missing, but it's heart breaking to see the close friends or gestalt mates crying in the random corners of the base. And the fighter models are certainly not helping with our situation right now as well! Oh dear, I'm still blushing thinking about it now..._  
I suppose in a way the fighters are justified. We scientists and researchers have low-charge bodies. So the need to... interface isn't as strong. Unfortunately, warriors are high charge, and with nothing to do... well.  
Windstorm swore that he was going to tear the spike off the next couple he sees interfacing in the washracks. I just hope the pair I ran into the hallway won't meet Windstorm too soon.

Rewind chocked on laughter. The exact same things happened on The Lost Light. The only difference was that he was sure that Rodimus and Drift traded photos for blackmail and extra shanix. Ultra Magnus was not pleased.

His sudden burst of mirth was ruined by an ear piercing screech, and a gigantic shudder that shook the entire base. Rewind fell of his seat, and landed on his back, the breath knocked out of him. His spark was thudding in his chest, and he felt as if all the energon within his body had frozen into ice.

Rewind got up and ran toward the medibay, where Pharma was originally. Rewind didn't know why he did, perhaps it was a natural instinct to be with another person in moments of fear. Instead, Rewind found himself in an empty room, with one lonely machine humming as it analyzed the green goop sample. Rewind immediately ran toward the wash racks.

When the door whooshed open, and steam poured out. Rewind ran in, looking wildly where Pharma was. "Pharma! Are you alright?"

A loofah flew out of the mist and smacked Rewind in the middle of the helm. The small projectile had the minibot slip on a puddle and fall onto his back. He stared dazedly above him. Soon, he made out Pharma standing above him. "Rewind? What are you doing here?"

Rewind rubbed his forehead and his visor finally managed to take Pharma in. He felt a chocking feeling rise up within his pipes.

The mad doctor was covered in pink suds, only half rinsed off. His wrist stubs welded a back scrubber valiantly, but it appeared as if they would fall out any time. Rewind giggled uncontrollably, his vents even hiccuping for a while.

When the minibot finally recovered, he saw Pharma with his optics narrowed and his lips pursued. "Are you done now, Rewind?"

Rewind immediately turned serious. "Did you feel that rumble? And hear that scream?"

Pharma bit his lower lip. "Yes. That was partly the reason I throw that... well,  _that_  at you."

Rewind nodded, satisfied. "I'm glad you're alright. I wanted to check up you because I was worried that you'd... freak out. But if you're capable of self-defense then I suppose you'll be alright."

Pharma paused. "You... care."

Rewind shrugged as he picked up the loofah. "I'm just indebted to what the world did to you. If the world drove you crazy, then as a part of the world it's my duty to make you sane again."

Pharma followed the minibot to his wash rack, where the water was still running. Rewind placed the loofah back and pointed at Pharma's body. "Need help?"

Pharma mutely shook his head. Rewind nodded and ran off. Pharma continued staring after Rewind for a little bit, his frame standing beneath the shower.

Rewind ran down the hall calling out Overlord's name, looking for the Phase Sixer.

"Overlord! Where are you? Come out!"

Rewind passed a corner and felt his body get snatched off the ground. Looking up he found himself face to face with Overlord, the behemoth's expression neutral. Rewind looked down and saw that his other hand carried a sword glinting copper in the light.

Rewind sighed and leaned back within Overlord's hand. "Well, I guess I can safely assume you heard the noises."

Overlord set the minibot down on the ground. "Yes, I did. What do you suppose that was?"

Rewind paused. "I was coming down here to ask actually."

Another ear piercing screech, and the base shook once more. Rewind was knocked to the ground form the force, and Overlord put a single hand on the wall to steady himself. Rewind trembled on the ground. Soon there came a voice carried on a breath.

_Rewind..._

Rewind snapped his head back and forth wildly. Overlord's expression turned furious, and instead of wildly turning like Rewind had done, his optics moving side to side, his gaze narrowed and calculating.

_Oh Rewind, you ran so foolishly..._

Rewind turned his head toward the wall he and Overlord were nearest. The noise originated there.

_Rewind, I know about Dominus Ambus. I know about his whereabouts. Wouldn't you like to know?_

Lies. They were all lies. Rewind refused to believe them.

_He really loved you. It was almost sad. He spoke about finding a place where you two could live out the rest of your lives in peace._  
  
Chromedome, Chromedome, Chromedome, Chromedome, Chromedome...

_But I bet he didn't know about Chromedome did he?!_

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Rewind screamed out, anguished light spilling from his visor. He felt as if his helm was about to split open, his spark screaming for Chromedome's, or was it Dominus Ambus'?

Overlord stabbed his sword through the wall, and there was a pained screech on the other side. Overlord stepped away, looking down at Rewind. "Well done. You helped me reveal his location. That was the king's voice, was it not?"

Rewind stared down at the floor. The voice that hissed out the next few words did not seem to be his own. "You should have killed him."

Overlord waved his hand as if lecturing a petulant rookie. "In good time. In fact, I'll take my time to kill him. Perhaps I'll test to see if those creatures can be tortured to death?"

Rewind turned around and found Pharma suddenly appearing out of nowhere; looking at the two of them with disgust in his optics. The medic's plating was still wet, drops of solvent dripping to the floor. "Are you both kidding me? You two are going to go back to your habsuite's and sleep coated in a layer of grime?"

Rewind paused and looked down at himself. It was true that he was slightly dirty, but that chase with those creatures had the wind blow off the majority of the dust. Overlord for the first time seemed to notice the state of his plating.

"Ah. You may have a point there medic."

Overlord walked toward the wash racks, leaving the other two to their own devices. Rewind went back to his own habsuite, intending to sleep off the scrap that had just occurred to him. A wrist stump on his shoulder stopped him. Pharma looked down at Rewind expectedly. "Well? Aren't you going to wash up?"

Rewind looked curiously at the medic. "Why are  _you_  so concerned?"

Pharma bit his lower lip and looked away. The handless mech mumbled something underneath his breath that had Rewind leaning forward. "What?"

Pharma snapped his head back and answered furiously. "I can't wash properly without hands alright! I still have spots on me that the automatic washers can't reach, and I need your help as well!"

Rewind paused and smiled widely behind his mask. "Why didn't you say so? Let's go."

The two walked down to the wash racks yet again. Pharma looking down at his hands and muttering unhappily. Rewind eventually looked over. "What's wrong?"

Pharma sighed deeply. "Just... not used to being handicapped I guess."

The two arrived and saw Overlord roughly scrapping off the congealed energon and other fluids with a bristled brush with the shower running behind him. He barely raised an optic ridge when the two arrived.

"Ever heard of knocking you two? I'm very shy."

Pharma and Rewind ignored Overlord and they both shuffled within a private cubicle. It was only when they arrived, the two realized the awkwardness of the situation. Pharma broke the ice in his usual pleasant way.

"Well? Aren't you going to get started?"

Rewind rolled his optics behind the visor and he pulled a loofah off the floor. He held the loofah up to the soap dispenser and the cleaner solvent oozed onto the loofah. He held up the loofah for Pharma to see. "Alright. Where do you need help?"

Pharma looked away. "Seams. Places where the automatic cleaner can't reach."

Rewind nodded and motioned for Pharma to sit down. When Pharma had planted his aft upon the ground, Rewind set to work, starting with the face, brushing away bits and chucks of the dried green stuff. Pharma sighed with relief as his neck cables were finally relieved of the irritating obstructions.

Rewind managed to get to Pharma's chest before the two heard Overlord speak.

"Are you two done sucking on each other's spikes in there?"

" _Shut the frag up Overlord!_ " The two voices ran out simultaneously. 

Rewind roughly ran the loofah through the seams on the flyer's chest, his face heated behind the mask, and muttering curse words in Primal Vernacular. 

Pharma fiddled with the solvent spray, bored. Rewind decided to pass time by conversation. "Pharma, how do you think the showers work? I don't think I see a solvent spring."

Pharma paused and thought for a moment. "Well, we had an odd set up in Delphi for the washracks. The solvent was used for washing, and was filtered and ready for use again."

Rewind was now wiping away at Pharma's stomach area. Thankfully, the doctor's pelvic area was clean, and Rewind was relieved not to clean there.

Pharma looked down and sighed with relief at the sight of his nearly clean chassis. Rewind finally decided to finish with the vents on Pharma's shoulders, and grimaced at the amount of gunk clogged in those vents.

Pharma bent down further to allow the minibot easier access toward the vents. Pharma grunted when Rewind finished with one. "Tomorrow, I'm going back to that cave myself if I have to wrench new hands out of a corpse. It doesn't even matter if they're medic hands or not."

Rewind gave a small laugh. "That's not necessary. Overlord found a corpse in one of the ships around today. We'll just see if his hands are salvageable."

After finally finishing cleaning Pharma up, the doctor muttered a  _thank you_  and stood under the torrent of solvent that beat down and washed off any remains of the gunk still on him. Rewind rinsed the loofah off and started on himself, making sure that there was plenty of soap dribbling onto the loofah. He looked curiously at the soap.

"Pharma?"

"Yes?"

"Where do you think the soap comes from?"

Pharma gave a sigh of exasperation. "It would probably come from the energon scraps. Soap is able to be created from those minerals that we aren't able to consume in the energon. The energon deposits would pour you energon while filtering the unwanted bits toward the washracks to process into soap. That's probably why it smells like high-grade."

Rewind stopped short and sniffed the loofah with his onlined olfactory sensors. Pharma was right. It smelled like the engex that Swerve served.

Rewind set upon the task of cleaning himself throughly, washing all the dust, grime, and dirt off. Everything that would have proved that he had been in that cave was wiped away by the loofah. Pharma turned this way and that as he rinsed himself throughly. Soon, he pressed the button that stopped the shower with his wrist and looked toward Rewind.

"I'm done here. Thank you again for...  _well_... you know."

Pharma turned and walked out of the washrack, heading toward the dryers. Rewind soaped himself further, digging hard within his own seams and continuing to sniff the soap as he felt the sadness continue to creep up upon him.

Engex always reminded Rewind of movie nights, where he would show everyone his latest download from Blaster or something else. He remembered Tailgate sitting lengthways, legs propped up and swinging, Swerve stuffing his face with energon, chips and First Aid's quiet sarcastic comments. There were more mechs as well, but Rewind forced himself to forget.

Finally he stood under the solvent spray, sighing as the dirtiness were blasted away by the rush of solvent. When Rewind stepped out to the open air, he thought his plating was sparkling. Standing underneath the dryer, the solvents were blown off into the vents below that must have been filtering the solvent again for further use. 

Rewind stretched as he felt the joints within him loosen. Walking toward his recharge slab, he was asleep before his head even hit the berth.  
 ** **  
****

 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXX**

  
_The same darkness. This time, it was not only dark, but the darkness was angry. It hissed and wailed at Rewind, attempting to drive him mad. Rewind refused to let the darkness win him over. Instead he continued walking forward, ignoring the hissing voices and toward the light ahead that he created for himself._

_Rewind closed his optics and when he opened he was standing within his own home on Cybertron. His old bedroom to be exact._

_It wasn't_ just _his own home, it was the home that he and Dominus Ambus shared. Rewind walked carefully out into the living room, staring at the furnishing he and his ____ had installed._

_Rewind continued past the living room, holding his breath to see who awaited him in the workshop._

_Rewind gave a small gasp as his optics were greeted with the sight of a recharging Dominus Ambus, asleep at his work station, still clutching the remains of his latest project in his servos. Rewind walked toward Dominus and gently took the small object out of his hands. Dominus awoke anyway._

_He blinked his stormy blue eyes, intense and handsome, even when half clouded by sleep. His lips curled into a sleepy smile._

_"Oh pardon me Rewind. I'm sorry I dozed off here. You know how it is, with those annoying Senate bots breathing down my neck."_

_Rewind gave a mute nod. His optics blown as wide as it could manage._

_It really was Dominus Ambus, wasn't it?_

_Dominus laughed gently and stroked the side of Rewind's face tenderly. "You look so surprised Rewind. I'm alright, you shouldn't worry so."_

_Leaning down, Dominus' face got closer, and closer..._

_Rewind blinked and he was instantly in another memory. He was sitting on his berth in the Lost Light. He looked around wildly, spark sobbing for his Dominus Ambus. A voice stopped him cold._

_"Rewind?"_

_Rewind turned around to see Chromedome holding two cubes of energon. Rewind felt his spark instinctively calm, but something inside him still yearned for the presence of Dominus Ambus._

_Chromedome set the energon cubes on the desktop. He worriedly felt Rewind's head._

_"Are you alright? First Aid said you would be expressing some fatigue symptoms after the jumpstart."_

_Rewind reached out Chromedome. "Chro-Chrome- Domey..."_

_Chromedome reached out and stroked the side of his face, every bit as tender and genuine Dominus Ambus had ever. "Shhh, Shhh, it's alright Rewind."_

_At that moment it was if both faces of Chromedome and Dominus and both turned into one. Rewind felt lips on his faceguard, and the smooth rub of the mask._

_"I love you Rewind." Came the voice of Chromedome and Dominus combined._

 

 

  
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_Author-Chan: Gawd, Angsty, every F*CKING TIME! You have to mind f*ck us all!_

_Angsty: *Purrs*_


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